As kerogen is the main organic component in shale, the adsorption capacity, diffusion and permeability of the gas in kerogen plays an important role in shale gas production. Based on the molecular model of type II kerogen, an organic nanoporous structure was established. The Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) and Molecular Dynamics (MD) methods were used to study the adsorption and diffusion ca...

BACKGROUND The Marcellus Shale is a vast natural gas field underlying parts of Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland. Rapid development of this field has been enabled by advances in hydrofracking techniques that include injection of chemical and physical agents deep underground. Response to public concern about potential adverse environmental and health impacts has led t...

Despite massive success of shale gas production in the US in the last few decades there are still major concerns with the steep decline in wellbore production and the large uncertainty in a long-term projection of decline curves. A reliable projection must rely on a mechanistic understanding of methane release in shale matrix-a limiting step in shale gas extraction. Using molecular simulations,...

Natural fractures seem to be ubiquitous in shale gas plays. It is often said that their presence is one of the most critical factors in defining an economic or prospective shale gas play. Many investigators have presumed that open natural fractures are critical to gas production from deeper plays such as the Barnett, as they are for shallower gas shales such as the Dev‐ onian shales of the nort...

US shale gas production is generally expected to continue its fast rise. However, a cautious evaluation is needed. Shale gas resource estimates are potentially overoptimistic and it is uncertain to which extent they can be produced economically. Moreover, the adverse environmental effects of ever more wells to be drilled may lead to a fall in public acceptance and a strengthening of regulation....

Ravigopal Vennelakanti Anshuman Sahu, Ph.D. Umeshwar Dayal, Ph.D. OVERVIEW: Disruptive innovation in an unconventional oil and gas industry such as the shale industry offers a promise to change the world’s economies. Advances in technologies such as horizontal directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing have fueled growth in the industry. However, oil and gas industry operators are facing tou...

Tapping the lucrative Marcellus Shale natural gas deposits may have a host of environmental concerns.

Black shale is dark-colored, organic-rich sediment, and there have been many episodes of black shale deposition over the history of the Earth. Black shales are source rocks for petroleum and natural gas, and thus are both geologically and economically important. Here, we review our recent progress in understanding of the surface ocean ecosystem during periods of carbonaceous sediment deposition...

Rapid growth of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas within the USA and the possibility of shale developments within Europe has created public concern about the risks of spills and leaks associated with the industry. Reports from the Texas Railroad Commission (1999 to 2015) and the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission (2009 to 2015) were used to examine spill rates from oil and gas well pads. Pollutio...

Since naturally occurring methane and saline groundwater are nearly ubiquitous inmany sedimentary basins, delineating the effects of anthropogenic contamination sources is a major challenge for evaluating the impact of unconventional shale gas development on water quality. This study investigates the geochemical variations of groundwater and surface water before, during, and after hydraulic fra...